Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

I challenge you to come up with a single valid reason marijuana should not be legalized. Come on, I know you can do it.
Actually, chances are, you can’t. Every reason that is commonly given for keeping marijuana illegal is based on myths, lies, and propaganda that have become ingrained in the public consciousness.

Let’s start with marijuana’s effects on the user. First of all – is cannabis addictive? No – it is not addictive. Users who stop smoking do not go through withdrawal. In fact, marijuana has even been shown to be less addictive than caffeine. Yes, it is possible to become psychologically addicted to it, but no more than it is possible to be psychologically addicted to anything. adparams.getadspec(‘c_billboard1’);

Does marijuana cause cancer? No – it is not carcinogenic. The only negative aspect of smoking marijuana is the fact that the smoke is hot. Nothing found in marijuana smoke causes cancer.

Does marijuana lead to negative health consequences and death? No. There has never been a single death associated with marijuana use. Not one.

Does marijuana lead to memory loss and stupidity? No. The “fact” that marijuana use damages the brain is a complete myth, which started with a study done by the government using monkeys. However, the way this study was conducted involved pumping massive amounts of smoke into a gas mask over the monkeys’ faces, which essentially suffocated them and caused brain damage that way.

The results of this flawed experiment spread, and now many people legitimately believe that smoking marijuana damages the brain.

Another common argument against legalizing marijuana is that it would cause violence. This is completely false. In fact, users of cannabis are much less violent in general, especially when compared to people who have consumed alcohol

. In fact, most of the violence associated with marijuana actually is caused by its illegality and because of drug testing. Because it is illegal, the distribution of marijuana is controlled by organized crime that would not even exist if it was legal.

And did I mention the legitimate medical uses of marijuana? It has been found to help alleviate symptoms of over 200 different diseases and disorders. And what about all the uses of hemp, a close relative of the plant that people smoke to get high?

All in all, it is completely hypocritical to leave marijuana illegal while alcohol, a far more damaging substance resulting in a huge number of deaths each year, remains legal. Marijuana has no negative health affects, and can even help people.